Here’s What Your $97 Million Drug War in Central America Actually Bought

Here’s What Your $97 Million Drug War in Central America Actually Bought

A new report from the Government Accountability Office provides a rare glimpse into the Central American war on drugs. Between 2008 and 2011, the report finds, the government spent $97 million for gear and training for its Central American partners. On the plus side, it’s laughably low compared to the more than $640 billion (and rising) the U.S. has spent on the war in Afghanistan.

Most of the drug war money is spent on equipment such as vehicles — like aircraft and patrol boats — night-vision goggles, body armor, radios and weapons, and X-ray equipment for scanning cargo containers. The Central American Regional Security Initiative, the government program funneling the money south, also funds counter-drug units, or TAG (Transnational Anti-Gang) teams comprised of agents from the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, who partner up with local police to investigate drug trafficking, weapons smuggling and money laundering.

Present drug legislation is based on a complex web of lies, corruption, misinformation, disinformation and myths. It has led to a string of failures that threaten democracy on local, national and international levels. Failures that have benefited most the ones they were designed to stop. These days, from the smallest of hamlets of Merry England to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, we can all fall victim to the war on drugs to a greater or lesser extent.